Augustine f



(No Model.)

A. F. FITZ GERALD.

SEAL FOR VESSELS AND MEANS FOR OPENING SAME.

Patented Jan. 3

WITNESSES.

STATES,

PATENT Fries.

AUGUSTINE F. FITZ GERALD. OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO THE AUTOMATIC CAN OPENING ATTACHMENT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEAL Foe VESSELS AND M EANS FOR OPENING SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 489,183, dated January 3, 1893.

Application filed March 25, 1892.

T0 at whom, it may concern.-

Be it known thatl, AUGUSTINE F. FIVTZ GERALD, a citizenof the United States, residing in the city of Brooklyn, Kings county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefui Improvement in Seals for Vessels and Means for Opening Same, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to the sealing of ves .sels and devices. for opening same, having more especial reference to sheet metal. cans and packages for preserved and prepared meats, vegetables, fruits, 8.70., where. leakage and admission of'airareto be prevented, and which can be readily opened or broken without the use of cuttingdevioes, or similar tools.

' ,The present improvement may be considered as a further development of 'the invention for which Letters Patent of the United States No. 439,133 were granted to me on the 28th day of October, 189'O,-and has for its object to lessen thenumber of parts or elements em ployed in making the s'aL-reduce the time and labor involved-in placing and soldering the parts in position, and consequently cheapen the article, besides enhancing its efficiency.

The essential. features of my presentconstru'ction are simply the ve;ssel,-the cover,' aninterposed independent or separate strip, and solder applied at a'single operation. For more complete comprehension, however, of the improvement,reference must be" had to the accompanying drawings forming. part of thisspecification, in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

In'said drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of a vessel with cover' andopeningxdevice ac cording t-o "my invention;''Fig. 2 is a cross section of same with partsin theirsealed-po sition; Fig. 3 is a cross sectionshowing the cover partly open, and Fig.4 a. perspective View of the plainstrip employed in the above construction.

Big. dis a cross section of-a modified form of can, and showsa strip shaped to correspond with bOth.-1"ll]1.al1d

Q0ver,-and-i ig-. 6 is a perspective view of the strip shaped to correspond withthe rim or-seat alone.

Referringto Figs. 1,- 3 and 4, A the Serial No. 426,338. (No model.)

vessel of'any preferred shape, having its top rim offset so as to form a shoulder or seat a for the cover B and interposed strip 0, and to offer a standing flange a, the solder being passed around the joint between it and the eovorin the usual way. The strip C is separate and distinct from the coverB, and is conveniently struck from waste pieces of sheet metal. It is adapted to be placed transversely of the vessel with one end l e$tiilg upon. the seat a at one side, and its opposite end(near which it is also supported ,bythe seat a, at the other side of the vessel) is slightly .bent, as at 0, so as to allow itto project,

as at c, a short distance beyond the'flange a. and side of the vessels-being preferably .-turned down afterward, as in Fig. 2, for con venience of packing. This strip 0 is prefer: ably also slightly bent or bellied toward the center previous to insertion, so asnot to 1 Here the opening or mouth of thecanis less than the diameter of its body,caused-bythe addition of; a beaded annular plate .or ring-A' to its upper edges-in the manner commonly known, said annular plate thus being. the equivalent of-the seat ctforme'd-o-n the canin the preceding figures. The strip 0 has the projecting end of, and in this easeis prefer- 9o ably beaded or corrugated-, as shown at 0, nearrits ends, so that those parts which over; liethfe annular plate-A may match its con, tour andfitclosely. The operationof soldering inthis modification is precisely similar to 5 thatherei'nbetore desoribed. I Fig. b shows a strip with ajplain curvein the center,-'and the strip indicated inFigl d follows the."entire cross section of: the cover .13. I may adopt either of the abovedescribed too or analogous forms without departing from my invention.

The shaped strips may be struck out by a die of similar contour to that which forms the cover,or may be suffieiently bent by hand.

It will be noticed that the cover B has in ing the solder and bending the cover away from its seat. In some cases this may be done by hand or with a pair of pliers,but the most convenient way is to employ the key K shown in 1, and,by using it as a handle, roll the'strip C and cover B back together, as indicated in Fig. 3,-its leverage always affording sufficient power to break the solder and bend the cover.

If desired, a small drop 'of solder may be placed upon the cover seat at one or both of the points where the strip'is to lie (or the ends of the strip may be previously dipped in solder), for greater security in making an air tight joint, and rely upon the final operation of soldering to re-heat (or sweat) and set the joints at these places, but ordinarily this will not be necessary.

It will be apparent from the above that by introducing the separate strip,extending from side to side of the can and supported on the rim or seat, I do away with the operation of soldering the strip to the cover, as in my prevessels together without loss of appreciable space.

What- I claim and desire to secure by Let- .ters Patent is as follows:

1. The combination with a vessel having an approximately horizontal annularseat formed at its rim,-of an independent flat strip place transversely of the can in such. a manner that one end of said strip rests upon said seat at one side and the other end is supported by said seat at the opposite side but projecting so as to provide a free end outside of the seat and can,and a cover placed within the seat on topof saidvindependent strip,the whole arranged and adapted to be sealed with solder or the 1ike,-and the seal to be broken and the cover removed by force exerted upon the free end of said strip,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a vessel having abeaded or corrugated seat near its rim, and a cover sealed thereon,of the independent strip 0 interposed between said seat and cover and shaped to correspond with such seat and cover so as to lie closely thereto, and having a free end projecting beyond the side of the vessel,substantially as set forth.

AUGUSTINE F. FITZ GERALD.

\Vitnesses:

ROBERT N. KENYON, SIDNEY MANN. 

